Mr Wilkinson appealed against his dismissal and attended a hearing chaired by Cathay's director of flight operations, Nick Rhodes, on April 10, an airline spokeswoman said. He was informed on Tuesday that his appeal had failed, she said.

"The [hellip] hearing concluded that the decision of the acting general manager (flying) was appropriate and the pilot concerned remains dismissed from the company.

"There is one further level of appeal open to him which will be heard by either the chief executive or the chief operating officer. The timing of [this hearing] will have to be agreed by both parties."

Supporters of Mr Wilkinson said they were disappointed at the outcome and had hoped he would be reinstated to a non-flying, managerial position because of his long and distinguished record.

"Everyone knows that what he did was daft, but it was a rush of blood to the head and no one was hurt," said one colleague. "It seems a shame that he should have to pay such a heavy price for it."

If all the instructor-pilots with a managerial function who've done some sort of what I call 'testosteron flying' would be sacked for it, I reckon there would be quite some interesting vacancies open at top airlines.

The guy in question really is the victim of all the negative attention his behavior has received in the press.
Just compare it to the widely positive attention the surprise TAP fly over at an Airshow in Portugal got...
or the lack of attention several other events I know of have seen...
Different cultures, different reactions, so it seems.

Airlines rooted in the Anglo-sakson mentality generally look at things differently than airlines rooted in the Latin tradition.

It should not have happened, but he shouldn't be getting more than a temporarily suspension for it really.

It was to be expected. What wasn't expected is that they would let him appeal in the first place. CX is not know for allowing the people it fires to do it.

Quoting Sabenapilot (Reply 4):Just compare it to the widely positive attention the surprise TAP fly over at an Airshow in Portugal got...

Remember that the only reason Capt. Wilkinson got fired is that a formal request for a fly by as per the company procedures wasn't filed and he had no official authorization to do it. Doing it in the confines of an airshow with an empty aircraft and a proper clearance is another matter.

Quoting Francoflier (Reply 6):Remember that the only reason Capt. Wilkinson got fired is that a formal request for a fly by as per the company procedures wasn't filed and he had no official authorization to do it. Doing it in the confines of an airshow with an empty aircraft and a proper clearance is another matter.

I wouldn't be so sure the fly by on the airshow by the TAP A310 was performed as previously agreed to by the company...

I've been hearing some pretty strong rumours that the crew added a little bit of extra personal input as they were flying along, but the airline preferred to keep the lid on this.

Quoting Sabenapilot (Reply 7):I wouldn't be so sure the fly by on the airshow by the TAP A310 was performed as previously agreed to by the company...

I've been hearing some pretty strong rumours that the crew added a little bit of extra personal input as they were flying along, but the airline preferred to keep the lid on this.

Well, you know more than I do about that one. And if they indeed went a little hot headed there too, it's interesting to note that the local civil aviation authorities didn't give the airline or those pilots any headaches over it, at least not openly.

The HKCAD, on the other hand, did not feel too lighthearted when they saw the flagship of the main airline they oversee just a couple of tenth of feet off the ground on the front page of the local newspaper...

The sh#t only started to hit the fan after it made it to the media, really.
In any case:

This dude got hung out to dry....
The Fly-by was on Jan 30th... my big question is when did Cathay fire him. If they were so upset they should have fired him right after the incident... the pics and youtube and media didnt get hold of this story till late february...
Oh, and apparently the chairman of the company, Christopher Pratt was sitting behind him...http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/05/business/pilot.php

I think it's a real shame and a bit over the top. A warning for not following company procedures would have been more than sufficient in my opinion, after all, I'm betting he wouldn't be likely to do it again if he had been given a formal warning.

Quoting AirNZ (Reply 10):What relevance is it as to who was either sitting behind him, or on board the a/c?

Apparently Christopher Pratt was said to have enjoyed the event... Yeah it doesnt matter if it was the janitor sitting behind you but the Chairman of the company can definitely decide to go to bat for you; especially if he was at the scene of said incident. Like I said before., they hung him out to dry. Someone's had to be the scapegoat and it was Wilkinson. I wonder how the conversation went in the cockpit before takeoff.. I wonder if WIlkinson told Pratt he was going to do it... or what if Pratt suggested it himself.... Anyway I bet Wilkinson got a nice severance package out of the deal...

Quoting FlyingDoctorWu (Reply 14):Apparently Christopher Pratt was said to have enjoyed the event... Yeah it doesnt matter if it was the janitor sitting behind you but the Chairman of the company can definitely decide to go to bat for you; especially if he was at the scene of said incident. Like I said before., they hung him out to dry. Someone's had to be the scapegoat and it was Wilkinson. I wonder how the conversation went in the cockpit before takeoff.. I wonder if WIlkinson told Pratt he was going to do it... or what if Pratt suggested it himself.... Anyway I bet Wilkinson got a nice severance package out of the deal...

i was just thinking, reading that article, who ratted him out and why didn't Pratt go to bat for him? I wonder, as chairman, if Pratt could overturn the decision and bring him back anyway.

Why are people so against low yields?! If lower yields means more people can travel abroad, i'm all for it

Quoting FlyingDoctorWu (Reply 14):Apparently Christopher Pratt was said to have enjoyed the event... Yeah it doesnt matter if it was the janitor sitting behind you but the Chairman of the company can definitely decide to go to bat for you; especially if he was at the scene of said incident. Like I said before., they hung him out to dry. Someone's had to be the scapegoat and it was Wilkinson. I wonder how the conversation went in the cockpit before takeoff.. I wonder if WIlkinson told Pratt he was going to do it... or what if Pratt suggested it himself.... Anyway I bet Wilkinson got a nice severance package out of the deal...

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you entirely. With all due respect, no-one "hung him out to dry", and he did that entirely by himself. Yes, of course I know who Pratt is and that was largely my reason for asking what relevance. However, as Captain, he was entirely in charge of, and legally responsible for, the aircraft and all those on board. It's of absolutely no relevance as to who was on board (or even if he was asked to do it), he made the decision and KNOWINGLY AND DELIBERATELY broke the rules and company procedures.......so where exactly are you getting "a scapegoat" from?

I am actually quite amazed (and somewhat appalled) by the amount on here who feel he was seemingly hard done by! Sorry, but this is absolute nonsense.....a pilot has responsibility, yet many are claiming he should just should have got a slap on the wrist. Spin it how one wants, but this pilot put the safety of the aircraft in jeopardy without the express authority to do so, and with passengers on board, yet many are claiming what he done should be classed as trivial!!!!!
Just out of pure curiosity (and of absolutely no direct relevance whatever, just a genuine question). in the case of say AF1, who is in ultimate command of the AIRCRAFT while in flight......the Captain or your CIC?

Quoting USAFDO (Reply 16):Glad to hear CX is enforcing rules that are for everyone to follow, and not just some "privileged" few.

He should remain fired, and black-balled to all airlines as he demonstrated total disregard for written company rules & policy.

As harsh as it unfortunately may sound, I absolutely agree with you 100%

Quoting USAFDO (Reply 16):He should remain fired, and black-balled to all airlines...demonstrated total disregard..."blatantly" with total disregard...very serious issue of gross misconduct...top dog pilot

Wow, here's a guy with no sense of ha-ha.

I think each of your points above could be successfully countered. This was no hot-dog cowboy - it was a very safe, very precise, very considered incident. It also just happened to be outside the company SOPs, and thus the discipline.
I agree with the outcome of this event, but certainly not with your skewed assessment and character assassination that followed..

Quoting USAFDO (Reply 19):Employees don't really need to know anything other than this guy, who was in one of the highest flying positions at his company "blatantly" with total disregard for company policy broke the rules.

They did communicate to us the background, and what was being done. I have not seen an update, maybe one will come out today.

We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking – Santosh Kalwar

25 CX747
: If only CX saw some of the stuff that the Navy does when they are out at sea. Has anyone seen the F-14 and F/A-18 fly-by with the Hornet upside down w

26 AirNZ
: Of absolutely what relevance is this? Since when is a Boeing 777 a highly advanced fighter jet or, for that matter, the pilot of such so highly train